Latest news with #UkrainePeaceTalks
France 24
9 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
'Star factor of PSG appeals to int'l audiences' yet France's League 1 doesn't reap the rewards
08:02 20/08/2025 Under Geneva Convention, Russia has no automatic claim to territory simply by virtue of occupying it Europe 20/08/2025 'In principle, there are always justifications for limiting & curtailing threats to nat'l security' UK 20/08/2025 Ukrainians flee front line amid Russian drone strikes Europe 20/08/2025 Russia, Switzerland, Austria: where might Ukraine peace talks take place? Europe 19/08/2025 Trump plans Putin-Zelensky meeting while affirming security guarantees Europe 19/08/2025 Russia's Lavrov says peace deal must ensure its 'security' amid Ukraine talks Europe 19/08/2025 Ukraine: How did the meeting between Trump, Zelensky and European leaders go? Analysis Europe 19/08/2025 War in Ukraine: Trump says arranging Putin-Zelensky summit Europe 19/08/2025 Zelensky says ready for bilateral meeting with Putin to end war Europe
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
European leaders surround Trump's desk 'like school children'
A photograph of European leaders surrounding Donald Trump's desk 'like school children' during Monday's Ukraine peace talks has gone viral, with critics pointing out that it neatly encapsulates US-European power dynamics. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer joined French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb around the Resolute Desk on Monday. They were flanked by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen , NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Trump's staff looking on in the background. 'A historic day at the White House as European leaders joined President Trump in the Oval Office,' the White House said, sharing the photo on X, in a post on Tuesday. European leaders had gathered in Washington a day prior to vouch for Ukraine and plead with Trump to back a motion to offer Kyiv concrete security guarantees in the event of a peace deal with Russia. American commentator and YouTuber Benny Johnson posted the picture on X and wrote: 'The single most powerful image of 2025: President Trump at the Resolute Desk with world leaders crowding around him, just listening. Nothing else comes close.' Zelensky returned to the Oval Office on Monday for the first time since February - the disastrous summit in which he was asked to leave after being challenged by U.S. Vice President JD Vance on his gratitude for continued American support. This time, the Ukrainian premier insisted upon expressing his thanks several times and deftly navigated the American press with humour before heading for talks with Trump and his European counterparts. Ashok Swain, a Swedish professor of peace and conflict research, said: 'Europe's 'most powerful' leaders sat like obedient pupils as Donald Trump held court in the Oval Office. Does this look Europe to Europeans?' One user said: 'All of them came to support Zelensky and not Trump.' Another said: 'We are watching history being made right in front of our eyes. Look at all the world leaders in the Oval Office with all eyes on Trump.' A third, joking about Trump and the US's authority, said: 'He called them over the weekend and said, 'Be here on Monday.' They all showed up. America is back.' European leaders have been trying to steer Trump towards a lasting ceasefire palatable to Ukraine and the continent since he took office. It was Italy's Giorgia Meloni who first raised the idea that non-parties to the war could offer Ukraine security guarantees resembling NATO's Article 5 pledge of collective defence, even if Trump is unwilling to welcome Kyiv into the alliance. Trump's administration in recent days appears to have warmed to the idea, though has ruled out putting U.S. boots on the ground as part of a major peacekeeping force. Ahead of Monday's talks in Washington with Zelensky, which followed Trump's historic summit with Putin in Alaska, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made clear it was inviting European leaders as friends and allies, not as 'backup' against bullying. Zelensky was harangued by Trump and his Vice President during their meeting in February, but Monday's talks appeared to go better. Still, neither the meeting with Putin nor Zelensky has yet yielded definitive progress towards ending the war. Trump is trying to steer Putin and Zelenskyy toward a settlement more than three years after Russia invaded its neighbor, but there are major obstacles. They include Ukraine's demands for Western-backed military assurances to ensure Russia won't mount another invasion in coming years. Kyiv's European allies are looking to set up a force that could backstop any peace agreement, and a coalition of 30 countries, including European nations, Japan and Australia, have signed up to support the initiative. The viral photos of European leaders in the White House prompted comparison to a 2018 photo of leaders roused and on their feet around Donald Trump - indicative, some said, of the changing state of international affairs. In that picture, former German Chancellor Merkel, flanked by other world leaders, is seen standing over Trump, who is seated with his arms crossed. After Monday's meeting, Trump announced that plans were underway for a trilateral meeting involving himself, Zelensky, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, although Moscow's response remained cautious. Zelensky expressed optimism and gratitude, while European leaders reiterated that no serious peace could proceed without Russia halting hostilities. Discussions also touched on a proposed $90 billion weapons package for Ukraine.
Telegraph
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Trump abolishes ‘silly season' – and summer holidays are off
Congress is on holiday, much of Washington DC has emptied out, and journalists should be writing about waterskiing dogs or celebrity sightings to keep the news machine ticking over during 'silly season'. That kind of summertime ennui is a distant memory now that Donald Trump has returned to power. A senior administration source told The Telegraph that the 79-year-old president abruptly ditched a planned August break to push forward with Ukraine peace talks. 'Two weeks were blocked out for him to be at Bedminster [the president's New Jersey golf club] but he decided to cancel it,' said the official. Instead, last week he flew to Alaska to meet Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart, on Monday he hosted Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, and seven European leaders at the White House, and in between he has taken over policing of Washington and signed executive orders on everything from 'debanking' to overhauling scientific research. The result is a continuation of the president's 'flood the zone' strategy to governing, a bump in his poll ratings, and no rest for anyone else in his team. Some staffers have had to repeatedly postpone their own plans for a holiday, or quietly make do with a snatched day off here or there. There is no silly season this year, according to David Urban, a former Trump campaign adviser and confidant. 'He's killed it off,' he said. 'There is no downtime in this administration.' This weekend the president is expected to stay at the White House, at a time when members of Congress and their staffs escape Washington's sticky summer season, and when diplomats head for their holiday homes. One member of staff described how their own plans for a summer break had been thwarted three times by the president changing his schedule at the last minute to fit in more travel. 'But it's worth it,' they added. Craig Shirley, the presidential historian, said Mr Trump was in a hurry to push through his agenda as time ticked down on his second and final term. Past presidents might not be seen in the capital for the whole of August, he added. 'But I think it really depends on what is going on at the time,' he said. 'Trump is dealing with multiple crises right now so it makes more sense to stay close to the White House even with all the modern communications he has – the image of being seen at the White House is very important.' That's not to say it has all been work and no play for the president. A five-day working trip to Scotland last month was centred around his two golf courses, but included agreeing a European Union trade deal and a sit-down with Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister. And last weekend he managed to fit in two trips to his golf course in Virginia despite only getting back from Alaska in the early hours of Saturday morning. 'Many staff on Air Force One were sleeping on the way home, not President Trump. He was awake and working the entire flight,' said Karoline Leavitt, his press secretary. Mr Trump called Mr Zelensky and a string of European leaders as he flew back from the summit. He arrived back at the White House at 3am. Ms Leavitt added: 'President Trump is the hardest working man in politics, and he literally works around the clock, as evidenced by his being here at the White House in the Oval Office 12 to 15 hours a day, going up to the residence immediately to continue working throughout the night.' This August stands in contrast to his first summer in the White House, when he took a 17-day 'working vacation' at Bedminster, contrary to even his own advice. 'Don't take vacations. What's the point? If you're not enjoying your work, you're in the wrong job,' he wrote in his 2004 book, 'Think Like a Billionaire.' There are signs that his strategy is paying off. A poll published on Monday suggested he had seen a bump in his approval rating after his Alaska summit with Putin. An InsiderAdvantage poll conducted over the weekend found that Mr Trump has the backing of 54 per cent of respondents, with 44 per cent saying they disapproved of his performance. That 10-point net approval rating is up from two points in July, when the survey was last conducted. Mr Urban said there was plenty more work to be done. Thoughts were now turning to promoting the 'big, beautiful bill,' Mr Trump's signature domestic policy agenda, ahead of next year's midterm elections, he still had dozens of appointees that needed to be approved by the Senate, and then there was the matter of peace in Ukraine. 'There's no rest for the weary,' he said.
France 24
16 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
Ukrainians flee front line amid Russian drone strikes
01:49 20/08/2025 Russia, Switzerland, Austria: where might Ukraine peace talks take place? Europe 19/08/2025 Trump plans Putin-Zelensky meeting while affirming security guarantees Europe 19/08/2025 Ukraine: How did the meeting between Trump, Zelensky and European leaders go? Analysis Europe 19/08/2025 War in Ukraine: Trump says arranging Putin-Zelensky summit Europe 19/08/2025 Zelensky says ready for bilateral meeting with Putin to end war Europe 19/08/2025 This Swedish church is moving 3 miles down the road Europe 19/08/2025 Zelensky, European allies push for Ukraine ceasefire, security guarantees in high stakes DC summit Europe 18/08/2025 America needs to show some 'backbone', use its leverage against Russia, political scientist says Europe
Russia Today
a day ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Switzerland offers Putin immunity for Ukraine peace talks
Switzerland has indicated it would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend possible Ukraine peace talks on its soil without facing arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant, according to media reports. Following a weekend during which Putin was welcomed to the US by President Donald Trump, who days later hosted Vladimir Zelensky and his key Western European backers, Moscow confirmed its readiness to participate in further talks on a lasting resolution to the Ukraine conflict and indicated that its diplomatic presence at such talks would be raised. A possible venue for such talks has not been identified. The Hague-based ICC issued arrest warrants in 2023 for Putin, as well as Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, over alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of children from former Ukrainian territories. Moscow has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, explaining that it evacuated the children out of the war zone for their own TO FOLLOW
